The Egg Carton Club

When we choose to put all our eggs in one basket there is likely to be some breakage, especially with those at the lower level. If we sort out the eggs into cartons containing twelve, they usually survive the hustle and bustle of modern distribution.

SO, for eggs, read people.

We, the people, are currently 'transported' in a giant global basket. Those on the top layers have a fair chance, those who live several market segments below can wind up crushed beyond usefulness. How then to set out to change the way we 'package' people?

The 12 Person Egg Carton
Let us consider a truly small gathering of just twelve people and let ten of them be our immediate neighbors and, hopefully, our future friends. The added two can be outside our carton in the larger economy, at risk of being crushed. So it is with almost one household in five at present. Our future sense of security depends much more upon our neighbors than it does on any market driven whim of the moment. If I care about my immediate neighbor, they may also care about me? Going beyond the immediate in order to include those normally left out can remind us of our good fortune to have a security 'carton' that we share with those we trust and grow to love. If we have food and clothing, with these we can be content. Indeed food and protection from the elements are really the only truly secure 'wealth', because only they can meet our absolute needs. What would a small gathering of neighbors do to enter into this sense of security?

The Egg Carton Club
One suggestion is to begin at this point of absolute need. The need for food. If we return to our designed roots (literally), we encounter edible plants. At this date, our national consumption of plants hovers around the 3-to-4 servings a day, a serving being 3-to-4 ounces (say 100 grams). According to most experts, this is at least 100% less than we need to sustain a reasonable level of health. One goal could be to increase plant food consumption by 100%, or 7-to-8 servings a day. In very rough terms this means an increase from one pound to a total of two pounds per day. Allowing for reasonable preparation waste, we might see this as 2-1/2 pounds per person when purchased at some kind of retail level. Although hard to strike an average, we can use $2 per pound as a base, thus giving a cost-per-person profile of $5 per day for plant food only. Clearly this is a considerable problem for the many 'eggs' at the lowest levels in the basket.

There has been a perfectly reasonable increase in the store-bought price for fresh produce, and as oil prices continue to rise, so will plant food prices. It follows that where possible, a backyard garden or a shared community garden could be a wise investment, especially when the costs and labor involved are shared. This is where the Egg Carton Club can provide for each other and especially for those 'left out.'

Organization and Administration of the Club
There need be no national body or subscription since the whole purpose is to do a small thing and do it well. A website will be established to provide a suggested framework of relationships and some help in planning small gardens. There would also be help given with good culinary practices that retain maximum nutrition and also methods of preserving excess seasonal crops. All this common knowledge would be provided free of charge by a foundation set up to help facilitate the EGGS movement

One possible future goal would be to explore the Green Bus concept that calls for the purchase of a retired school bus that could be painted green and have the seats replaced with racks. The bus would have a daily circuit calling at EGGS Club member gardens to pick up a once-per-week box of excess production. This would then be sorted into the racks and driven to a pre-arranged spot in a less-advantaged neighborhood to be sold at one quarter of the normal retail price. Using our base figure of $2 per pound, this would mean very fresh produce for only .50 per pound; a more achievable amount. The .50 income could help to cover the basic overheads of the Green Bus.

Final Thoughts
Egg Carton Clubs could differentiate themselves with the name of their street, i.e., Cascade View Drive Egg Carton Club. We could create a decal for our post boxes with perhaps a smiling egg?! We could encourage one another through a website upon which we could post our progress.

This is just a general musing and I would be very grateful for any and all input and ideas at this visionary stage.

Benedicere!

Interested in Graham's latest book, Growing at the Speed of Life? Click here. 

February 2012